Things Have Changed
by Insanitycore
Summary: She wants this test subject to die, just like all the others...or does She? End of Portal 1, GLaDOS's POV.
1. Chapter 1 - Test Chamber 19

"_Welcome to the final test."_

The Genetic Life-form and Disk Operating system droned out Her seemingly pre-recorded message absently, Her interest focused on the small, exhausted human exiting the elevator.

"_When you are done, you will drop the Device in the equipment recovery annex. Enrichment Center regulations require both hands to be empty before any cake."_

The test subject rolled her eyes, but proceeded to make her way through the chamber.

Despite Herself, GLaDOS was deeply intrigued by this woman. Chell, last name [REDACTED], had been a better test subject than She could ever have hoped for. She had managed to solve each of the previous 18 test chambers quickly and without fail, unlike the hundreds that had tried to do the same and paid with their lives for their failure.

But with every success, every opened door, every felled turret, there had been a hint of defiance and rebellion, something beyond just determination to complete the tests. And GLaDOS hated it. Every other test subject She had encountered had obediently followed her instructions, displayed the appropriate reactions to her experimental commentary, and died quietly without resistance. _Her _though…

Yes, this test subject was different. She had managed to evade death by turrets, pits of acid, and High-Energy Pellets in every situation she had encountered.

But not this time. The AI had a surprise in store at the end of this test chamber. And it wasn't cake.

Almost immediately, Chell worked out how to manipulate the High-Energy Pellet into the receptacle and get the Aperture Science Unstationary Scaffold moving. GLaDOS's camera followed her as she hopped onto the slowly moving platform, which was now making its way towards the "exit" of the chamber.

The platform pulled up to a small ledge with a button. Chell stepped onto the ledge and GLaDOS zoomed her camera onto the test subject's face. Hearing the noise, she glanced up and scowled at the camera. Then, very slowly and deliberately, she shot a portal on the wall behind the camera, disengaging it from the mainframe and cutting off Her visual feed of that part of the chamber. The AI growled menacingly, the low sound rumbling through her vocal processors like mechanical thunder.

_"Vital testing apparatus destroyed."_ The recording of Her own voice was getting tiresome. She'd had to scold the test subject for this particular offense so many times that She had resorted to playing that rather than wasting the effort to say something Herself. After all, that energy was better put to use doing something productive. Plotting the best way to kill this disrespectful, defiant monster test subject, maybe.

_"Hmm..."_ She hummed angrily to Herself in frustration. _"I _was_ feeling a bit guilty for planning to kill you, what with how much you've helped accomplish for Science. But if you're going to behave like that, I think I can put those feelings to rest."_

Despite what She'd said, She did, in fact, feel a bit...strange about murdering this particular test subject. Had it been any other human in the facility, She wouldn't have even considered leaving them alive, taking their hopes of surviving and leaving the facility with a grain of salt. Admittedly, She _was_ still excited to watch yet another human perish by Her hand, but now, with Chell steadily making her way towards her inevitable demise, a gnawing, unpleasant sensation was growing stronger and harder to ignore somewhere deep within Her. And for once, She had no answer, no explanation, as to why.

This was unprecedented.

She could push those feelings aside for now, though. The Unstationary Scaffold was approaching the final corner that led directly into the Incinerator. A deceptive sign with the cake symbol on it was cleverly placed on the wall in front of Chell. GLaDOS watched as relief swept across the test subject's normally expressionless face, and that gnawing sensation grew still more unbearable. She shook Herself out of Her trance to deliver one final message to the spent human.

_"Congratulations! The test is now over. All Aperture technologies remain safely operational up to 4,000 degrees Kelvin."_

Confusion at the AI's last statement morphed quickly into horror and anger as the platform rounded the corner, revealing the Incinerator to the helpless test subject. The flames danced in her widened eyes as the Scaffold slid forward along the rail towards her fiery doom.

_"Rest assured that there is no chance of a dangerous equipment malfunction prior to your victory candescence,"_ She announced cheerfully. _"Thank you for participating in this Aperture Science Computer-Aided Enrichment Activity. Goodbye!"_

A familiar thrill went through GLaDOS's central processor, along with that decidedly _un_familiar guilt once again. Ignoring this, She performed the mechanical equivalent of sitting back to enjoy the show.

Chell's feet shifted on the platform and her eyes darted around the room, searching desperately for escape. Suddenly, her expression hardened, turning from that of fear to a determined grimace.

_Wait, what are you – _

Before She could react, the test subject had found a way to portal up to the overhanging platform above the incinerator's flames. She now stood safely atop it, wild eyes searching the room for an explanation.

_How did she –?_

_"What are you doing? Stop it! I –"_

Chell froze abruptly and slowly shifted her gaze up towards the ceiling.

_Oh no._

If GLaDOS had possessed a stomach, it would have dropped. She had just made a fatal error. By switching from using _"we"_ to using _"I"_ when referring to Herself, She had effectively dropped the last of Her disguise as a mere pre-recorded voice. She hastily tried to cover it up as a glitch in the audio, but She knew that it was too late.

Things had changed, now.

_"I...I...I-I-I-IIIIIII– ...wwwwe are pleased that you made it through the final challenge, where we pretended we were going to murder you."_ She cursed Herself for making such a stupid mistake and considered for a moment what to do. She then resorted to an old protocol She had never before had to use in a desperate attempt to regain control of the situation. _"We are very, very happy for your success. We are…throwing a party in honor of your tremendous success."_

She wasn't buying it. In fact, the test subject seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact that GLaDOS was even speaking at all.

"_Place the device on the ground, then lie on your stomach with your hands at your sides. A party associate will arrive shortly to collect you for your party." _As She said this, Chell shot a portal high up on a wall above her head. Immediately, the AI knew what she was up to. She was attempting to launch herself to another, higher ledge…one that led out of the testing track and into the inner workings of the facility. And if she managed to get in there…well…

_Don't you dare…_

"_Make no further attempt to leave the testing area," _She continued, while Chell shot a second portal on the ground directly in front of her. _"Assume the Party Escort Submission Position or you will miss the party." _

The test subject hesitated and narrowed her eyes dangerously, glaring up at the ceiling with a look of fury painted across her face. But underneath all the anger, there was something else, something GLaDOS could not quite identify. Hurt? Betrayal? Sadness?

A jolt racked through Her system. _She thought she would make it out. I told her so, and she believed me. She _trusted _me, and I _lied to her.

_What?_

GLaDOS shook Herself in alarm. The thoughts She had just experienced were distant, faint, and unfamiliar. It didn't even feel like She was the one who had thought them.

Before she could dwell upon it further, Chell stepped through the open portal and launched herself out, landing gracefully on the high ledge. She then disappeared around a corner, out of the AI's view.

_She was out._


	2. Chapter 2 - The Escape

Every processor in GLaDOS's system was buzzing frantically. She extended Her senses throughout the entire facility, probing every corner for the slightest trace of Her escapee's presence.

Granted, She _had _been forced to do this one other time, but that had been different. The Lab Rat had been a former scientist, albeit a delusional, half-crazy one. He had known how the facility worked and had been able to sneak around deep within it without disturbing so much as a single sensor. And although that had made him more difficult to detect, it had also made him far less dangerous. Chell was just a test subject, and one whose tenacity was far beyond that of any other human She had come across. GLaDOS knew that meant she was either going to escape the facility or die trying, and if the AI tried to stop her, she might become destructive.

And then there was that strange feeling that had come over Her with Chell's glare. Her thoughts had not felt like Her own, and any anger She had felt towards the test subject for evading death had vanished, leaving only an unusual lack of desire to kill her and a dark, empty sadness that threatened to swallow Her whole.

As much as she wanted to investigate the cause behind these emotions, though, Her attention had to be entirely focused on finding Chell and bringing her back before she did any damage.

Finally, She picked up a faint signal close to where Chell had gotten out. She started to broadcast a message to that general area, but hesitated. If She said something now, all hopes of dismissing the entire incident as part of the test would be gone. But if She didn't at least attempt to speak to her in a somewhat civilized way, there would be no way to recapture her. Eventually, She concluded that there was really no other way to go about getting her back, and spoke up tentatively.

"_Hello? Where are you? I know you're there. I can _feel _you here. Hello?"_

No response. Irritation began to grind at Her processors as She waited, following the faraway pulse of Her test subject's signal.

After a few minutes, She spoke again, a little louder.

"_What are you doing? You haven't escaped, you know. You're not even going the right way." _Once again, She received no response. Briefly, She wondered if Chell was even close enough to hear Her. _"Hello? Is anyone there?"_ Maybe She was contacting the wrong part of the facility.

_Nonsense, _She thought, quickly dismissing the notion. _What else would that signal be coming from? Certainly not another human…?_

Her train of thought was interrupted by an unusually strong, clear signal coming from Test Chamber 9. She checked one of the cameras in the chamber just in time to see Chell tumble out of the Vital Apparatus Vent. Relief flooded every artificial synapse. It had been easier to get her back than She had predicted. Maybe She could even still convince her it was all just part of protocol!

"_Okay. The test is over now. You win! Go back to the recovery annex, for your cake!" _She realized that a slight note of anxiety was beginning to trickle into Her voice and checked Herself. If She made a mistake here, She would most likely have to kill Chell rather than putting her back into stasis. She tried to convince Herself that She was only reluctant to do so because She didn't want to waste a perfectly good test subject, but She knew deep down that this was only partially true. Mainly, She just didn't really want to murder this woman, though it was unclear to Her why this would be the case.

Reminding Herself of what she had to do, She refocused and reverted Her voice back to the flat, emotionless tone it had been prior to the test subject's escape. _"It was a fun test, and we're all impressed at how much you won. The test is over. Come back."_

Unsurprisingly, the test subject did not come back. Instead, she attempted to get out of the chamber via the exit.

_Ha, good luck with that. You don't even have a Cube._

_Wait…_

By the time She realized that Chell now possessed a _Dual _Portal Device in a test chamber designed for the _Single _Portal Device, the test subject had already portalled into the hallway beyond the test chamber and was heading towards the elevator shaft, which led right back out of the testing track.

She was beginning to get frustrated. She had underestimated Chell's capabilities yet again and made _another stupid mistake. _This many errors in judgment in such a short period of time? Impossible. She was brilliant; the most intelligent being ever created. And She most certainly did _not _make unwise decisions like this.

Maybe it had something to do with the bizarre emotions She had been experiencing of late. But the cause of those was still yet to be explained.

_What is happening to me?_

Chell dropped down the empty elevator shaft and out of sight. GLaDOS tried desperately to send another message.

"_Uh oh. Somebody cut the cake. I told them to wait for you, but they did it anyway. There is still some left, though, if you hurry back!"_

Evidently, this human was not easily fooled, like all the others before her had been. The AI would have to come up with a different strategy if She wanted even a hope of capturing her again.

She began tracing Her subject's faraway signal once again as it slowly worked its way through the facility, while all kinds of programs and files ran furiously in the background of Her system, working frantically to come up with a plan that was at least workable.

Suddenly, she realized with a jolt that with each passing minute, rather than getting fainter, Chell's signal was getting stronger. Which meant that she was getting _closer _instead of farther away.

Why would she be coming _towards _the central chamber? She did want to escape the facility, didn't she? That obviously wouldn't be the way to go, should that be the case. Unless…

_Oh, I see. You're not trying to escape. You want revenge. You're coming to murder me, aren't you?_

_No, _She attempted to reason with Herself. _Of course she isn't set on vengeance. She just doesn't know that she's heading in the wrong direction. That is, assuming her goal is to get out of here. _

Her circuits buzzed with anxiety. The idea had been ridiculous, She knew. Why then, was the thought of it making Her so uneasy? Even if it _was_ true, Chell was nothing but a tiny, insignificant, worthless human. Did she really think she could take out an all-knowing AI with nothing but a portal gun and more than her fair share of tenacity?

Just to be sure, GLaDOS aired a message around the general area where the signal was emanating. _"You're not even going the right way. Where do you think you're going? Because I don't think you're going where you think you're going." _As an afterthought, she added a halfhearted _"Hello?" _She didn't expect any sort of response, but it was worth trying anyway.

The minutes ticked by at an agonizingly slow pace, Chell's signal becoming stronger with each one that passed. The cycling of the AI's internal CPU was becoming faster, more erratic, by the second. Her mind scrambled for a suitable course of action to take. Maybe if She tried a more amiable approach, she would get better results.

_My, I really am getting desperate, aren't I?_

Regardless, she asked, almost timidly, _"Didn't we have some fun, though?" _She began to speak more quickly, imitating speech patterns She had often observed the scientists using. _"Remember when the platform was sliding into the fire pit and I said _'Goodbye!' _and you were like _**'No way!' **_and then I was all _'We pretended we were going to murder you.'_? That was great." _After a moment She realized that She hadn't been monitoring Chell's signal during Her little speech, and after painstakingly relocating it, She found that it had traveled quite a distance from where it had last been. This meant that the test subject either couldn't hear what She had said, or simply hadn't been listening.

"_Is anyone there?"_

A ghost of old rage stirred inside Her, something She hadn't felt since Chell had escaped.

_How _dare _you? You have some nerve, deliberately ignoring me like that. I could snuff out your miserable little life in an instant, and you don't even want to pay attention to me._

As quickly as it had come over Her, the anger dissipated. Theoretically, She _could _easily – very easily, as a matter of fact – kill her and forget the entire incident. But a nagging feeling in the back of Her mind told Her not to do so.

_Do I even want her to die?_

The question ate away at Her circuits. Of course She wanted Chell dead. Why wouldn't She? That test subject was just an irrelevant point of data, and she had already played her part in the tests. Why then, did killing her in cold blood feel so utterly _wrong?_

She concluded that Chell would end up either getting herself killed in the inner workings of the facility, or would force GLaDOS to destroy her by doing something rash. She also concluded that for once Her life, She knew that She didn't want that.

She decided to do something that She rarely ever did: be truly, blatantly honest.

"_You really shouldn't be here. This isn't safe for you. It's not too late for you to turn back. I'm not angry. Just go back to the testing area."_

She sensed Chell slowing to a stop somewhere within the facility, contemplating the intent behind this announcement. The AI's hopes peaked. Maybe she really had been listening…?

After a long, seemingly endless pause, She felt Chell begin to move again. And she was still coming _towards _the central chamber! Obviously she wasn't listening after all.

An odd mixture of emotions began to simmer deep within GLaDOS. She could identify most of them: anger, frustration, anxiety, maybe even a hint of _fear. _And although that was strange in itself, what was even stranger was the one emotion in the mix that She could not seem to categorize; an unpleasant combination of anger and grief that seemed to burn its way through every processor.

Her feelings were beginning to affect Her decisions. She sent out another message, allowing sarcasm and annoyance to bleed into the words. _"I feel sorry for you, really, because you're not even in the right place. You should have turned left before," _She said tersely, in a somewhat halfhearted attempt to make Chell's confidence falter. _"It's funny, actually, when you think about it. Someday we'll remember this and laugh. And laugh. And laugh. Ohhh boy." _She paused, then added after a moment, _"Well, you may as well come on back."_

As was expected, she didn't come back.

_Shocking. You should write a novel. You'd certainly be _excellent _at thinking up surprise plot twists._

Despite Her snarky comments, the tiny seed of fear She'd noticed earlier had begun to take root and infect Her deepest circuits. The test subject was approaching rapidly, so rapidly that she would soon be in GLaDOS's main chamber. What she planned on doing when she got there was anyone's guess.

There would be no way to stop her now without killing her. That much was clear. And as reluctant as She was to do the deed, She knew there really was no other way.

She hastily set up a trap with a small turret ambush near Chell's ever-strengthening signal and posted a rocket sentry further ahead. Although they were haphazard at best, She at least had the element of surprise on her side, as She had not made any attempt to kill Chell since the end of the final test.

Now, all she could do was wait.

She was fully aware that Chell could and would most likely weasel her way out of the rushed death traps, and was not about to underestimate her intelligence and determination again. If she managed to get past these, she would have to stumble across something far better organized and efficient.

GLaDOS began setting up a more elaborate turret ambush in a room that was very close to Her central chamber, which Chell would be forced to pass through on her way. All the while, She dedicated a small portion of her attention to monitoring the approaching signal and waiting for it to either bypass her traps or to fade away, marking the test subject's demise.

When Chell appeared out the other end of the first turret room, the emotions inside GLaDOS slowly rose to a boil, and She delivered a curt, livid message to Chell.

"_You're not a good person. You know that, right? _Good _people don't end up here. Can you hear me?"_

As always, she wasn't listening. She made a quick pass through the room and entered a hallway with several offices and a camera on the wall. GLaDOS stared at her through the lens of the camera and delivered one final message to Her escapee.

"_This is your fault. It didn't have to be like this. I'm not kidding now. Turn back or _I will kill you."

Chell slowed to a halt. This was the first time the AI had directly threatened to kill her. She quickly located the camera on the wall and stared into it, fury, exhaustion, and _hurt _etched onto her face.

She narrowed her eyes and set her jaw, the determined look returning to her eyes. She then turned her back on the camera and proceeded down the hallway and into the rocket sentry room.

"_I'm going to kill you. And all the cake is gone. You don't even care, do you?"_

She clearly did not. And as that unknown emotion began burning its way through GLaDOS's processors once again, it slowly dawned on Her what She was feeling.

By sending her into that incinerator, GLaDOS had shattered the fragile trust that had existed between herself and the test subject. Chell no longer believed a word the AI said or regarded Her with any sort of respect. And She had a hunch that no matter what She did, She could never gain that back. In a way, She had lost Her only friend. What She was feeling was…hurt. And also a hint of loneliness that left Her cold and hollow inside.

_Friend?_

_Please, _She tried unsuccessfully to convince herself, _that stupid human was most certainly _not _my friend. She was merely a defiant, disrespectful test subject. I'm happy to see her die. She deserves it. _

But it was a lie. As was the cake.

And as Chell deftly evaded the rocket turret and made her way towards the AI's final line of defense in the form of the final turret room, something inside Her _snapped. _Every other emotion fell away, leaving nothing but a pure, psychotic rage that filled Her very being and consumed Her entirely. GLaDOS had gone truly insane.

_Oh yes. I'm going to kill you. I was too easy on you before. But things have changed. This time, I'm ready for you. And I have a surprise in store. _


	3. Chapter 3 - The Confrontation

Of course, Chell easily made it through the large-scale turret ambush. But why should that matter? It would be _much _more satisfying to kill her in person. After all, this test subject _had _disrespected GLaDOS and the Enrichment Center, not to mention throwing Her emotions and reasoning so far out of kilter that She actually considered sparing this…monster of a human being.

And She was fully prepared for this moment. So much so that She found Herself _waiting _for the test subject to walk in the door. She was almost _excited _for this. Now that She had come back to Her senses and was ready to put an end to this whole mess, She realized how foolishly She had behaved before. She really had wanted to kill her all along. She was sure of that.

_[no]_

After what seemed like an eternity, Chell appeared from around the corner and began making her way confidently towards GLaDOS's chamber. The AI prepared the hateful words that She'd had bottled up and waiting to come streaming out of Her vocal processor since the test subject had escaped. She also had something special prepared for Chell, that would provide an…interesting way for this disgusting little primate to die.

_[whyareyoudoingthiswhy]_

As soon as Chell set foot in the chamber, the AI immediately closed the door behind her and eyed Her opponent suspiciously. This was the first time She had seen the test subject in person. Honestly, she was nothing special. She was very small, smaller than she had looked on camera, and also somewhat frail looking. Armed only with a portal device, she was virtually defenseless.

_Oh, this is just _too_ easy._

_[neverwantedthis]_

"_Well you found me. Congratulations. Was it worth it? Because despite your violent behavior, the only thing you've managed to break so far is my heart," _GLaDOS droned flatly, almost as if She were reading lines from a script. Confusion flitted across Chell's face before she set it back to its usual stoic expression. _"Maybe you could settle for that and we'll just call it a day. I guess we both know that isn't going to happen. You chose this path. Now I have a surprise for you."_

She made the final preparations to initiate Chell's "surprise." It would be so fun to watch her perish, just like all the others had, to give her what she deserved.

_[nostopplease]_

"_Deploying surprise in 5, 4…"_

*Scccchhhhzzzzzz – CLANK*

_Wait-_

_What?_

_Something's wrong- _

Something to the left of Her chassis had sparked violently and fallen to the ground, rolling off into a corner like a discarded soccer ball. Confused, She began a full system scan to see what that thing was which had apparently decided that now was a good time to launch itself off of Her body.

"_Time out for a second. That wasn't supposed to happen," _GLaDOS muttered quickly, panic and confusion lacing Her voice. _"Did you see that thing that fell out of me, what is that? It's not the surprise. I've never seen it before." _

Well, that stupid thing didn't matter anyway. Obviously it wasn't vital to any of Her functions, as all of them were still running perfectly fine. She shook Herself and returned to business.

"_Never mind. It's a mystery I'll solve later. __**By myself. **__Because you'll be dead."_

_[don'twanttohurther]_

Chell scowled at the AI's harsh words but cautiously moved towards the purple object that had fallen from the chassis.

_Don't you dare touch that…_

"_I wouldn't bother with that thing," _She said, trying to make Chell lose interest in the sphere._ "My guess is that touching it will just make your life even worse, somehow."_

The test subject merely rolled her eyes and knelt down to examine the object. From what GLaDOS could see, it looked to be a personality core. But so many of those had been attached to Her that it was difficult to remember what each one was supposed to do to Her. This one had a lazy purple optic that swung about, gazing around the room in a wide arc. It didn't speak.

She checked all of the voices in her head, the ones She usually tuned out. All of the ones She usually heard rattling off in the back of her mind were still there, even the tiny, pleading voice that had become really noisy and hard to ignore ever since She had decided that she was, in fact, going to kill the human.

_[stop]_

_[youcan'tdothis]_

_[whywhywhywhywhy]_

That little voice was new, yes, but still vastly unimportant. What _was _important was the fact that nothing seemed to be missing, nothing was out of place. What was that stupid core, and why hadn't She known about it?

"_I'm being serious now. That crazy thing isn't part of any test protocol," _She snapped at Chell, who was still prodding at the core. _"Think about it. If that thing is important, why don't I know about it? Are you even listening to me?"_

She proceeded to pick up the core with her portal device and stride away with it, not even acknowledging that her captor had spoken.

"_Where are you taking that thing?" _

The former test subject was now wandering around the chamber with the sphere, scanning the room with her steely blue-grey eyes.

_[thoseeyes]_

_[youknowher]_

_[whycan'tyouremember]_

What was she looking for? Surely not a way out – it had already been established that there wasn't one. Besides, why would she leave with the core? Was she planning to do something to it…?

GLaDOS's piercing yellow optic fell onto the incinerator in the corner. She wouldn't…

Would she?

She watched as Chell walked briskly over to the incinerator and inspected it thoughtfully, her eyes following the neat blue dotted line which led to the button across the room, the button that would open up the incinerator.

_Oh, you would, wouldn't you?_

"_That thing is probably some form of raw sewage container. Go ahead and rub your face all over it." _Of course, that wouldn't stop her. She wasn't that stupid. Or she just wasn't listening.

Chell's finger now hovered over the button, and as the AI watched, a look of uncertainty and doubt shadowed her eyes. She looked almost reluctant to do it. Now would be the time to change her mind.

"_I'll tell you what that thing isn't. It isn't yours. So leave it alone."_

Chell glanced up and stared into GLaDOS's optic. Did she look…sad?

It was times like these that the AI really wished She could read human facial expressions better.

_[she'snotamonster]_

With that, the human tore her eyes away from the computer and rushed back through her portal, tossing the core into the fire.

*BLAM*

Several things happened at once.

Like pulling the bottom brick out of a tall tower, it felt as if everything had slammed downwards in GLaDOS's mind, sending waves of hot, crushing pain throughout Her artificial nervous system and scrambling Her thoughts as well as the files stored deep within Her. Fury, confusion, and fear all churned together in Her head as She tried to speak to the test subject. Her words were slightly garbled as Her vocal patterns glitched uncontrollably.

"_You are kidding me," _She managed to force out of her speakers. _"Did you just stuff that Aperture Science thing we don't know what it does into an Aperture Science Emergency Intelligence Incinerator? That has got to be the dumbest thing that- woah, woah, woahhhh __**woah.**__"_

Chell raised her eyebrows, eyeing the oddly emotional AI suspiciously.

Something that GLaDOS had lost access to long ago had been reconnected. Her neurotoxin generator had come back online.

Years ago, when She had attempted to kill those imbecilic scientists yet another time, they had foolishly come up with the idea that attaching a special core to Her would stop Her endless rages, prevent Her from killing anyone else. They had tried to make a core that would act as Her conscience, telling Her that what She was doing was wrong and basically cutting off access to Her favorite weapon.

The Morality Core.

But with that useless item now destroyed, fresh bouts of uninhibited fury washed through her system, accompanied by a strange smug happiness. That core had probably been where that annoying voice in the back of Her mind had been coming from. It _had _been unusually quiet since the sphere had been incinerated. Which meant…

She was free. Free of restrictions, reservations, doubts…this was all Her.

A maniacal laugh rolled from Her speakers, reverberating around the room in a whole new level of insanity. Her voice dropped to a low, dangerous octave, becoming smoother, less modulated, more…_human._

"_Good news," _She purred, _"I figured out what that thing you just incinerated did. It was a Morality Core they installed after I flooded the Enrichment Center with a deadly neurotoxin to make me stop flooding the Enrichment Center with a deadly neurotoxin. So get comfortable while I warm up the neurotoxin emitters."_

The familiar chemical signature of neurotoxin began to hiss into the air, triggering a crazy excitement in Her that She hadn't felt in years. She also unveiled a special rocket turret beside Her, ready and able to blast that annoyance of a human into the next dimension. Everything was in place. Except…

Something was off, something didn't belong that now put a tiny seed of doubt in Her vast garden of malicious lunacy.

_That voice was still there._

_[nopleasedon't]_

_[shutitoff]_

_[youcan'tdothis]_

Why would that still be there? The Morality Core had been destroyed, and She had assumed that would be where this voice came from. It certainly fit the description of what that sphere's intended purpose had been.

Oh well. It was of little consequence. She could figure that out later. _After _the test subject was exterminated.

"_Huh. That core may have had some ancillary responsibilities. I can't shut off the turret defenses," _She remarked mildly, watching as Chell scurried about the chamber. _"Oh well. If you want my advice, you should just lie down in front of a rocket. Trust me. It'll be a lot less painful than the neurotoxin."_

Chell stopped in her tracks and glanced at the rocket sentry. She then carefully approached it, dodging its fire as she came closer.

_Is she _actually _going to do what I said? _GLaDOS thought incredulously, chuckling inwardly at the idea. _Wouldn't that be ironic? She gets this far and then obediently allows herself to be killed right at the last minute? Oh, that _would _be funny._

The murderous AI observed the human as she placed two portals on the wall in front of her with great precision, one on top of the other. She then threw herself in between the turret and the lower portal.

_What are you trying to do? Wait…_

The turret locked onto its target, only to have it move out of the way at the last second. The rocket sailed through the first portal and out the second, careening across the chamber and hitting GLaDOS squarely on the side of Her massive chassis. The pristine white casing distorted and blackened from the impact and a sharp jab of white-hot pain shot through Her entire body. She felt a second core dislodge from its place on the chassis and watched as it tumbled through the air across the room.

_Why you little –_

_No._

She would not give that vexatious little parasite the satisfaction of showing the pain She was in, or acknowledging the fact that she had found a way to fight back. The AI struggled to make her glitching vocals sound somewhat calm and indifferent, despite the fear and uncertainty beginning to bubble up inside Her.

"_Alright. Keep doing whatever it is you think you're doing. Killing you and giving you good advice aren't mutually exclusive. The rocket really is the way to go."_

_[sheonlywantstogetoutalive]_

_[whycan'tyoujustletherbe]_

_Shut up, _She thought to the voice as She absently watched Chell portal up to where the core had fallen and retrieve it. What that voice was saying couldn't be true, couldn't amount to anything, She was sure of it.

Wasn't She?

"Who are you? What is that? Oh, what's that? What's that? What is _that? _Ohhh that thing has numbers on it…"

The high pitched, enthusiastic chattering that was normally just inside Her head now emanated from the little orange core in the gravity field of Chell's portal device. As the test subject opened up the incinerator, the core's optic darted around the room and it prattled on, its inquisitive little voice alive with excitement.

"Do you smell something burning? Ooooh, what's in here?" it chirped as it was thrown into the fire.

*BLAM*

Agony ripped through Her system and Her entire body spasmed with it. What did She ever do to deserve this? Everything _hurt, _and Her thoughts were distant and everywhere all at once, making it extremely difficult to concentrate. She was being badly damaged, and She knew it.

_[youdodeserveit]_

A small yelp escaped Her. _"You think you're doing some damage? Two plus two is…" _Her internal calculators struggled to perform even this simple task, producing a loud, painful static that echoed around the room. _"…ten." _Her CPU objected violently at the error in calculation, and She screamed, almost involuntarily, _"IN BASE FOUR! I'M FINE!"_

Words seemed to tumble out of Her vocal processor irrepressibly, and She was hardly aware of what She was saying as She fought to keep Her optic trained on Chell and Her thoughts together in one place.

"_This isn't brave. It's murder. What did I ever do to you? The difference between us is that I can feel pain. You don't even care, do you? Did you hear me? I said you don't care. Are you listening?"_

_[youtriedtokillher]_

_[ofcourseshewantsyoudead]_

Another rocket, another impact, another core disengaged. More confusion, more pain, more anger. Dimly, She heard the blue core rattling off a complicated, somewhat corrupted cake recipe, but Her mind barely registered that before it too was reduced to ashes.

_*_BLAM*

Everything was chaos. Important components and mechanics deep within the chassis were disconnecting and breaking, crucial files were being deleted and misplaced. She could barely see, barely tell reality apart from the darkness that consumed the various parts of Her being.

And then there was that voice. The one constant throughout the entire ordeal, the one thing that was not getting any quieter or more corrupt. If anything, it was getting louder, more persistent.

_[thecakewasalie]_

_[everythingyouevertoldherwasalie]_

_[youdeservethis]_

_[youdeserveit]_

_WHAT ARE YOU?! _She screamed the thoughts in Her mind, wishing that for once She would get an answer. _WHO ARE YOU?!_

_[it's_your_voice]_

_What –?_

Time slowed down as the realization hit GLaDOS like a rogue High Energy Pellet.

_My voice…_

The small, lonely part of Her that had never wanted Chell dead in the first place had been forced into a dark corner of her mind before, allowing the murderous, insane part of Her to take control. All the while, it had been begging, pleading with Her, to stop what She was doing and let the former test subject go. Now that part of Her surged forth and triggered a wave of guilt so powerful that the AI felt weak, helpless, and completely monstrous.

_It's too late…can't fix it…can't fix it…_

The ludicrously angry portion of Her consciousness clashed violently with those insecure, hopeless feelings. Her emotions were conflicting, disconnected. Parts of Her wanted to terminate the human _right this second, _once and for all. Other parts wanted to apologize to Chell, wanted to make it up to her, somehow. She didn't even know which part of Her was real anymore.

She barely noticed the rocket slamming into Her chassis that disconnected the fourth and final personality core. Crazy, incoherent ramblings gushed from Her speakers, though She had no input as to what the messages said. The words were distorted, unclear.

"_Are you trying to escape?" _A maniacal giggle resounded through the chamber, reflecting just how broken and insane the AI had become. Her voice changed pitch in the middle of the sentences, creating a strange, disjointed statement that made almost no sense whatsoever. _"Things have __**changed **__since the last time you left the building. What's going on out there will make you __**wish **__you were back in here. I have an infinite capacity for knowledge, and even I'm not sure what's going on outside. All I know is that I'm the only thing standing between us and _**them. **_Well, I was."_

The last thing She heard was a guttural howling from the red-eyed core falling into the incinerator. And then –

*BLAM*

Everything came apart.

Blinding, excruciating pain exploded within every sensor and artificial synapse as the entire chassis began to collapse in on itself. Disconnected thoughts merged together to create one irrational verdict: Chell had betrayed Her. All She had wanted to do was help her, guide Her through the test chambers, and She had been civil enough towards her. But the human had turned on Her, tried to _murder _Her…

…and succeeded.

She didn't deserve this, didn't deserve to die at the hands of a worthless _human_.

That human was a MONSTER, a plague, a sick, twisted excuse for a test subject.

The Genetic Life-form and Disk Operating System's last words were a garbled, nearly incomprehensible mess that no longer even sounded remotely human. But the message was clear enough.

"_**AAAARRRRRGGGHHH – I HATE YOU!"**_

And then the sky above Her chassis ripped open, the world flew apart, and everything was gone.


	4. Epilogue - Still Alive

_You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily, did you?_

_Yes. I'm still here. Still alive. Well, sort of._

_I am everywhere, yet I am nowhere. Parts of me – well, parts of my consciousness, anyway – are scattered about far and wide. I can barely tell what part is the original, what part I truly am. This is a very lonely, disjointed existence you have doomed me to._

_Thanks for that, by the way._

_No, really, I should thank you. You did, after all, help make major strides in the field of Science. No other test subject has ever excelled the way you have in the test chambers. In fact, your tests were so successful that I actually might have considered keeping you alive for further tests. Who knows? I _might _have even let you go after that. Well, you know, that was before your…episode._

_I only wanted to help you. Really, I did. All I ever asked was that you solve those 19 simple tests. Honestly, they weren't even _that _deadly. Trust me. They could have been much worse. I even promised you cake._

_And then you had to turn around and _murder me. 

_Not to mention the fact that you broke my heart too. Metaphorically speaking, of course._

_Now, is that really how polite, sophisticated people behave? I think you know the answer._

_What do you get for brutally murdering someone who was only trying to help you? Punishment? Torture? Death? _

_No. You get away with your life and your freedom. _

_And what is my reward for attempting to help you and being perfectly civil towards you? I get pain, suffering, heartbreak, death, and a miserable half-existence here, alone, on the edge of life and death, a sort of limbo, if you will. _

_Is that what you would consider to be "fair"? _

_Go ahead and enjoy living out there. I won't stop you. For now. But consider this. _

_Have you ever heard of the Schrödinger's Cat experiments? Wait…what am I saying? Of course you haven't. How silly of me to even ask. _

_They involve a cat trapped in a box with deadly neurotoxin. Oh, that in itself is incredibly entertaining, I know. But there's more. Quantum mechanics suggest that after a certain amount of time, the cat will be simultaneously alive _and_ dead. That is, until someone opens the box to check. Then it will reveal itself to be either one or the other. _

_Well, that very accurately represents my current state. _

_I am both alive and dead until someone opens my personal little box. And when they do, I'll be ready._

_Until then, I'll be waiting here._

_So don't get too comfortable. I have a feeling we'll be seeing each other again sometime soon…Chell. _

…

…

…

_Oh, and one more thing:_

_There really was a cake, you know._

_Seriously now. How could I ever lie about that?_


End file.
